In honor of the NBA Season commencing, here is my late preview for the Top 8 Eastern Conference Teams.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
(Source:cavalierssteamshop.com)
The East is what Cleveland Cavaliers has to lose during this upcoming season, but that doesn’t mean the Cavs haven’t improved. The Cavs have the potential to field one of the best offenses in the league this year with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love. This team will be a matchup nightmare for the NBA if all of these players can coalesce together during the upcoming season. When you also account for the fact that the Cavs have a deeper bench than last year, this team should improve from last year’s teams that already made the finals. If this unit can stay healthy for the entire year, I predict they will win the NBA Finals.
2. Toronto Raptors
(Source:nba.com
The Raptors made a huge splash during free agency this year by signing DeMarre Carrol away from the Atlanta Hawks. Carrol emerged as one of the better two-way small forwards in the league last year. This addition, plus an already talented Raptors team, should mean big things for the Raptors this year.
3. The Washington Wizards
(Source:gazettereview.com)
The Wizards suffered a blow in free agency by losing Paul Pierce but recovered by acquiring Jared Dudley in a trade with the Bucks. This, combined with the recent emergence of Otto Porter Jr., should allow the wizards to have a fantastic small ball unit, which could cause problems for opposing NBA teams. This should help the Wizards to be better than they were last year and become one of the upper echelon teams in the East.
4. The Atlanta Hawks
(Source:atlantagreekconnection.com)
The loss of DeMarre Carrol is really going to hurt this Hawks team, but the ascendance of Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore should help to offset this loss. Besides this loss, the Hawks kept most of their personnel from last year’s successful squad. The Hawks should still field an extremely efficient offense and defense, which should allow them to win a lot of games in the upcoming year.
5. The Chicago Bulls
(Source:betting-analyst.com)
The Bulls are another team I have ranked low because I see injuries in their future. Joakim Noah looked nowhere near the dominant center we were used to seeing over the last couple of seasons, and I wonder if this injury will follow him into the season. Derrick Rose is injured (shocker, right?) already, and I can’t imagine this season will put an end to his health struggles. Throw in a new coach, and there is no way this team will not regress this upcoming season. But if Rose stays healthy and if Noah could regain his past form, this team is another that has a chance to sneak higher into the rankings.
6. The Miami Heat
(Source:Poundingtherock.com)
I have the two of the most intriguing teams in the Eastern Conference back to back in these pre-season rankings. The Heat lucked out by having Justise Winslow fall to them at 10th in the draft. With the return of Dwayne Wade, Goran Dragic, Chris Bosh, and Hassan Whiteside, this team should be better than the sixth seed. But Wade has been unable to stay healthy over the last couple of seasons, and after a serious health scare for Chris Bosh, I’m not sure this team will be able to stay healthy this upcoming season, which is why I rank them so low. If they can stay healthy, they have the talent to jump on the aforementioned teams.
7. Milwaukee Bucks
(Source: nba.com)
Perhaps more intriguing than the Heat are the Bucks. I have the Bucks as the seventh seed after a successful off-season luring Greg Monroe away from the New York Knicks. This was one of the league’s best defensive teams last year, while also being one of the youngest. The Bucks’ defensive prowess should continue, but if Giannis Antetokounmpo, Michael Carter Williams, Greg Monroe, and Jabari Parker coming back from injury can all improve, this could be an extremely dangerous team in the East.
8. Indiana Pacers
(Source:Trendingtoplists.com)
In a weak Eastern Conference, the Pacers will be the last team in the playoffs in these rankings. I like the addition of Monta Ellis a lot, as he will provide a lot of needed scoring for an offense-needy team. With George Hill improving and Paul George back, this team should be better than last year. I think without Hibbert, they will see a defensive slip from the Pacers that will not be matched by an offensive uptick. This team should be good enough to make the playoffs but not good enough to do anything once in the post-season.
